I tried a few highly recommended banana cake recipes, until finally one day I just mashed up some bananas and added them to my buttermilk cake recipe. BEST banana cake I've ever had. No muss, no fuss, just buttermilk goodness, and bananas. So aromatic too.

one way around it is a banana filling in a nice fluffy yellow/white cake

but 'fluffy' and 'banana cake' are kinda opposites huh

bananas don't really juice do they so all that to say try a nice roasted banana filling

ok--what if you made two batters and layered the fluffy in between the banana--more fluffy than banana--a marble cake--that would work!

Thanks for your suggestions K8memphis. Yeah fluffy and banana aren't usually seen together, all the more reason why my hard-headed self is determined to find/make something that works. I plan to use a Bananas Foster filling and feel like pairing it with a banana cake will make more of an impact than pairing it with white/yellow cake, even though that's an excellent option too. I just refuse to accept that I would be stumped by something like banana cake. I conquered white and yellow cake darn it! LOL.

Every tutorial I've seen on 'roasting' bananas shows them baking it. I don't see how that has any impact on the flavor since the banana does not get direct contact with the heat (like toasting coconuts or other nuts before using), texture definitely changes but what's the point of baking the banana in its peel first? Can you tell a difference in taste?

Thanks BakingIrene. If all else fails (and I hope not) I'll try these options. I try to avoid traditional creaming if at all possible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZCouture

I tried a few highly recommended banana cake recipes, until finally one day I just mashed up some bananas and added them to my buttermilk cake recipe. BEST banana cake I've ever had. No muss, no fuss, just buttermilk goodness, and bananas. So aromatic too.

Thanks AZCouture. I tried that last night but something was off (my leavening I think). Will update as I tweak and go.

Okay, I said I tried adding bananas to my yellow cake last night and thought the cake was off. I tried it after a couple of hours in the freezer and this is my weird result:

Edges and outer crust were super dry (I wasn't in the mood for bake-even strips so I dropped temp to 325. This may have contributed to the weird crust. I guess I'll be going back to the strips and baking at 350).

Surprisingly the cake itself was more cake-like than bread-like. Almost what I'm going for texture-wise (I'll give it 87.5%) but I need it to be a tad less dry or dare I say more MOIST (LOLOLOL!!!!!)

I've made some adjustments (that don't involve adding extra bananas). Now I just have to get bananas and wait for them to ripen. Fingers crossed.

Okay, I said I tried adding bananas to my yellow cake last night and thought the cake was off. I tried it after a couple of hours in the freezer and this is my weird result:

Edges and outer crust were super dry (I wasn't in the mood for bake-even strips so I dropped temp to 325. This may have contributed to the weird crust. I guess I'll be going back to the strips and baking at 350).

Surprisingly the cake itself was more cake-like than bread-like. Almost what I'm going for texture-wise (I'll give it 87.5%) but I need it to be a tad less dry or dare I say more MOIST (LOLOLOL!!!!!)

I've made some adjustments (that don't involve adding extra bananas). Now I just have to get bananas and wait for them to ripen. Fingers crossed.

Umph. Whether I am baking banana cake in a loaf or in layer pans, I cover the cake loosely with a thin dish towel about 10 minutes after it comes out of the oven. Give it overnight on the counter, and it is MOIST like you would dream of. No other cake does this.

Umph. Whether I am baking banana cake in a loaf or in layer pans, I cover the cake loosely with a thin dish towel about 10 minutes after it comes out of the oven. Give it overnight on the counter, and it is MOIST like you would dream of. No other cake does this.

You know I banana cake/bread tends to be one of those baked goods that taste better a day or two after they're baked freezer or not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KoryAK

Try using Hero Compounds added to your regular vanilla cake. The Hero stuff is a lot better than traditional extracts and made from real bananas.

Thanks KoryAK, I don't know why I didn't think of that. We had some orange compound in class that we used in pound cake and it was the business. The flavor was so intense. I'll see if the stores nearby have any.

The best banana flavor comes from black, over ripe bananas because the sugar and flavor is naturally developed and the pH is the lowest - so it does not effect your leavening. Yellow or slightly green bananas have a high pH, low flavor and low sugar. But if you pop yellow or slightly green bananas in the oven to roast, you are forcing the pH down, developing the sugars and essentially speed ripening them by caramelizing them in the skin. You will not get the same results if you take them out of the skin and try and cook them either in the oven or on the stove. Same goes if you want to use fresh pumpkin, sweet potato, yams or other gourds and fruits to make a cake. Always roast them in their natural state.

I have had GREAT success converting my regular yellow cake recipe to a banana cake - I just swap out 1/2 my buttermilk for mashed ripe bananas. I reverse cream, and because I've lowered the pH by roasting or use bananas that are over-ripe, the pH in the banana is about the same as my buttermilk - so I don't have to alter my leavening. It has the texture of a fluffy cake with a tight crumb, smooth mouthfeel, and is especially tasty with some mini chocolate chips thrown in topped with Nutella SMBC.

The buttermilk is still necessary for emulsion and for tenderness, if you use too much banana you will get a heavy muffin or bread texture.

The best banana flavor comes from black, over ripe bananas because the sugar and flavor is naturally developed and the pH is the lowest - so it does not effect your leavening. Yellow or slightly green bananas have a high pH, low flavor and low sugar. But if you pop yellow or slightly green bananas in the oven to roast, you are forcing the pH down, developing the sugars and essentially speed ripening them by caramelizing them in the skin. You will not get the same results if you take them out of the skin and try and cook them either in the oven or on the stove. Same goes if you want to use fresh pumpkin, sweet potato, yams or other gourds and fruits to make a cake. Always roast them in their natural state.

I have had GREAT success converting my regular yellow cake recipe to a banana cake - I just swap out 1/2 my buttermilk for mashed ripe bananas. I reverse cream, and because I've lowered the pH by roasting or use bananas that are over-ripe, the pH in the banana is about the same as my buttermilk - so I don't have to alter my leavening. It has the texture of a fluffy cake with a tight crumb, smooth mouthfeel, and is especially tasty with some mini chocolate chips thrown in topped with Nutella SMBC.

The buttermilk is still necessary for emulsion and for tenderness, if you use too much banana you will get a heavy muffin or bread texture.

Good luck!

Thanks for chiming in FromScratchSF. ^^ This may have contributed to the problem. I used yellow, just ripe bananas. I know, I know I should have waited, but I really wanted to test out my recipe I have 4 bananas that I have placed on the fridge and plan to forget about for the next few days.

For my next test, I've decided to add some sour cream to the recipe rather than an extra banana to avoid the heaviness that the extra banana can bring. Upped my baking soda by a small fraction to compensate for the extra acid.

Looked up some stuff online and you're right that the pH does change as the fruit ripens (making the 'nanas less acidic as the sugar content increases with ripening). Kinda makes sense as underripe fruits tend to be super acidic compared to their ripe counterparts. So other than the soda for the sour cream I won't mess with the leavening too much. Thanks!

Thank you erin2345. I'll see what I can incorporate from that recipe. I love the idea of caramelized bananas... just as a snack while the cake bakes hehehe.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZCouture

I definitely don't puree mine. I mash them up with fork only. And the cake recipe I add them to does not contain egg yolks, it's a light airy white cake.

I read that puree-ing kinda ups the overall liquid content of the batter making the cake heavier. I think I'm going to mash loosely leaving chunks (kind of a cross between mashed and chopped) so the 'nanas don't mess too much with the rest of the ingredients of the tried-and true yellow cake.